IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Sims, M.E. | |
| Identification of mid-size cat skulls | |
| 2005 Full Book | |
Skulls of cats (Family Felidae) are often imported as souvenirs or trophies without provenance information. The purpose of this identification guide is to provide wildlife law enforcement officers with a how-to guide for distinguishing skulls of five species of mid-size cats commonly seen in wildlife trade. Skulls of cheetah, cougar, snow leopard, jaguar, and leopard are described in the next few pages of this guide. They are similar in size and might be confused when country of origin is unknown. Lion and tiger, the two largest cat species, and smaller cats can be ruled out most often by size alone (Figure 1). The following pages describe and depict several distinguishing skull characters of mid-size cats including canine grooves, nasal profile, and frontal morphology. Metric rulers are included for scale. Figures 2 through 6 show basic skull shape and size, nasal profile, frontal morphology and canine tooth detail. Species identification for probable cause can be made using the steps shown in Figure 7, along with the accompanying descriptions. |
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